U.S. Vetoes Proposal for Humanitarian Cease-Fire in Gaza at U.N. Security Council

The U.S. vetoed an Algerian proposal at the United Nations Security Council that called for a humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza, saying that a cessation of hostilities without securing the release of hostages in Hamas’s captivity would only prolong the conflict.

The U.S. circulated a draft resolution ahead of the vote calling, instead, for a temporary cease-fire in Gaza “as soon as practicable” and in tandem with the release of all hostages taken on Oct. 7, as the Biden administration increasingly clashes with the Israeli government over the conduct of the war.

U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the Council that proposals akin to the one advanced by Algeria on Tuesday aren’t conducive to a sustainable peace and would instead empower Hamas and deprive Israelis and Palestinians of the “security, dignity and freedom” they desire.

The U.S. was the sole veto against the Algerian proposal, underscoring the Biden administration’s increasing isolation in its support of Israel’s right to defend itself. Biden has faced a rising political outcry at home from progressive Democrats who have condemned Israel’s bombardment of Gaza and soaring civilian casualties.

Washington has long rejected any resolution on Gaza that includes the word cease-fire, arguing that doing so would allow Hamas to survive to fight another day, and has advocated instead for pauses to facilitate the release of hostages and allow humanitarian aid into Gaza.

“Demanding an immediate, unconditional cease-fire without an agreement requiring Hamas to release the hostages will not bring about endurable peace,” Thomas-Greenfield  said. “Instead, it could extend the fighting between Hamas and Israel.”

Algeria’s ambassador to the U.N. unveiled his country’s vision for a humanitarian cease-fire, which included calls for unhindered deliveries of aid to all parts of Gaza and a rejection of any efforts to forcefully displace Palestinians from Gaza. Speaking to members of the Security Council—plus delegates from Israel, Qatar and Tunisia—on Tuesday,  Ambassador Amar Bendjama said it was imperative for members of the Council to embrace Algeria’s plan given rapidly deteriorating conditions in Gaza.

But the U.S. continued to press for an agreement that set out humanitarian conditions as well as the release of the 130 hostages from Oct. 7 still held in Gaza. Thomas-Greenfield said that while gaps remain, the key elements of this proposal are on the table.

“If an arrangement is reached. It would help create the conditions for sustainable cessation of hostilities, which I know all of us would like to see,” she said, adding that the Algerian proposal “jeopardizes these efforts.”

“Sometimes hard diplomacy takes more time than any of us might like,” she added.

Thomas-Greenfield repeated the U.S. position that Hamas “has no place in future governance of Gaza,” that there can be no reduction of territory in Gaza, and that an Israeli military operation in Rafah “should not proceed.”

In previous U.N. votes, the U.S. has rejected calls for a cease-fire in Gaza. But last week that tone began to shift, with President Biden telling reporters he had called for a temporary cease-fire in a conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that sensitive negotiations were underway and said that the White House hopes efforts to secure the release of hostages will “bear fruit” soon. He told reporters Tuesday that now isn’t the right time for a permanent cease-fire because it would diminish pressure on Hamas to release the remaining hostages.

The White House has grown increasingly frustrated with the failure of its attempts to rein in Israel’s military campaign after giving it full-throated support for months. Tensions with Netanyahu’s government have been exacerbated by looming Israeli plans to invade Rafah, the southernmost town in Gaza and the only major population center that Israeli troops haven’t entered.

The Biden administration has warned Netanyahu against conducting an operation without a credible plan to ensure the safety of civilians in Rafah, whose prewar population of 300,000 has ballooned to over one million after most of Gaza’s population was displaced by the fighting.

The U.S. draft resolution, a copy of which was seen by The Wall Street Journal, calls for a “viable plan” to protect civilians in Rafah and prevent their displacement in the event of a major military operation there. It warns that a large ground offensive shouldn’t proceed under current circumstances, which it says could displace civilians into Egypt with “serious implications for regional peace and security.”

The Israeli prime minister’s office declined to comment on the resolution. Over the weekend, Israel gave Hamas a Ramadan deadline, meaning the second week of March, to return the hostages held in Gaza or face a ground offensive in Rafah.

Washington’s apparent willingness to call for a cease-fire comes as other close Israeli allies have become more willing to call for an end to the fighting.

On Monday, officials said 26 of the European Union’s 27 countries were ready for the first time to call for a cease-fire in a statement eventually blocked by Hungary. Until now, Germany had echoed the U.S. stance by only seeking pauses in the fighting, a position backed by Austria and the Czech Republic.

Israel has launched airstrikes on Rafah in recent weeks and threatened to send in troops as heavy fighting continues around Khan Younis further north. Israel says the two cities are Hamas’s last strongholds in the strip and thinks hostages are being held there. Last week, Israel rescued two hostages from a residential area of Rafah.

Fighting in Gaza continued Tuesday with a focus on Khan Younis, where the Israeli military said it discovered a weapons storage facility and killed dozens of militants using airstrikes, tank fire and snipers. On Monday, the military said it killed militants who had launched rockets into southern Israel.

The World Health Organization said Tuesday it had completed a second evacuation from Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza’s second-largest hospital. The U.N. agency said the hospital went out of service after Israeli forces besieged and then raided it, which they said was aimed at detaining militants sheltering there. The WHO said dozens of patients remain inside the facility.

Further north, the Israeli military called on residents of two neighborhoods in Gaza City to evacuate south. Witnesses said they saw dozens of people moving from Zaytoun district to western parts of Gaza City since the early morning. They reported hearing artillery shelling but no apparent clashes in the area.

Hunger is on the rise in Gaza, particularly in northern areas where the U.N. agency Unicef reports that one in six children under the age of 2 is acutely malnourished.

Write to Vivian Salama at [email protected], Stephen Kalin at [email protected] and Laurence Norman at [email protected]